The murder of Nick Berg, a 26-year-old American businessman, by a group of Islamist terrorists in Iraq sent shock waves through much of the West. What has impressed most people is the fact that the terrorists cut Mr. Berg's head in the way that sheep are beheaded at the annual Feast of the Sacrifice.

Berg is, of course, not the first to be murdered in such a gruesome manner. Nor, alas, is he likely to be the last. For the cutting of heads (in Arabic, qata al-raas) has been the favorite form of Islamist execution for more than 14 centuries.

In the famous battles of early Islam, with the Prophet personally in command of the army of believers, the heads of enemy generals and soldiers were often cut off and put on sticks to be shown around villages and towns as a warning to potential adversaries.

In 680, the Prophet's favorite grandson, Hussein bin Ali, had his head chopped off in Karbala, central Iraq, by the soldiers of the Caliph Yazid. The severed head was put on a silver platter and sent to Damascus, Yazid's capital, before being sent further to Cairo for inspection by the Governor of Egypt. The Caliph's soldiers also cut off the heads of all of Hussein's 71 male companions, including the one-year-old baby boy Ali-Asghar.

Islamic history is full of chopped heads being sent around by special delivery to reassure rulers, to terrorize foes and to impress the common folk. In 1821, the Qajar king of Persia ordered a week of celebrations when he received the severed head of a Russian general who had been captured in a battle near Baku. In 1842, the Afghans massacred the British garrison in Kabul, a total of 2,000 men and their wives and children, chopping off their heads and putting them on sticks to decorate the city. (They allowed one man to leave to report to the British.)

One Algerian specialist in slitting throats and cutting off heads was known as Momo le Nain (Muhammad the Midget). He was a 20-plus-year-old butcher's apprentice recruited by the GIA for the purpose of cutting off people's heads. In 1996 in Ben-Talha, a suburb of the capital Algiers, Momo cut off a record 86 heads in one night, including the heads of more than a dozen children.

Done, no doubt, in In the name of Allah, the all Merciful, the all Compassionate.

The murder of Nick Berg, a 26-year-old American businessman, by a group of Islamist terrorists in Iraq sent shock waves through much of the West.

But the beheadings of Serbs and Russians did not caused shock in the West. The opposite happened - West sent army and gave support to radical Muslims in Yugoslavia. As a result several thousands of Serbs died, Serbia got ruined and terrorist got a foothold in Europe. (Same thing could happen to Russia if the later did not have nukes.)

Must be that the heads of Eastern Europeans have lower value.

7
posted on 06/26/2004 7:10:49 PM PDT
by A. Pole
("When they start beheading your own people[...], then you will know what this is all about." - Slobo)

The murder of Nick Berg, a 26-year-old American businessman, by a group of Islamist terrorists in Iraq sent shock waves through much of the West. But the beheadings of Serbs and Russians did not caused shock in the West. The opposite happened - West sent army and gave support to radical Muslims in Yugoslavia. As a result several thousands of Serbs died, Serbia got ruined and terrorist got a foothold in Europe. (Same thing could happen to Russia if the later did not have nukes.)

Must be that the heads of Eastern Europeans have lower value.

Let's see, who are the muslims and who are the decent people????????? We need to be on the side of the decent people not the muslims where ever they breed. The muslims have brought us to the point that we need to destroy them where ever they are, because they cannot tollerate us, then we cannot tollerate them!!!!!!!!!!! Wake up America, they hate us, so we have to destroy them, before they destroy us! If you people don't understand this then suck up to the michael moors of the world be fat and stupid then die. We'll take care of the rest of what needs to be done.

Until I see tens of thousands of muslims in the streets decrying what the heck is going on, I think I am entitled to believe that they condone and are not in disagreement with terrorism, despite what GWB says.

I am disgusted at our failure to put this enemy in its place and let the chips fall where they may.

10
posted on 06/26/2004 8:22:29 PM PDT
by chris1
("Make the other guy die for his country" - Gen. George S. Patton)

Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.